For 30 years I’ve seen startups make these same 5 mistakes. Here’s how to fix them.

One of the young executives I mentor recently asked me whether there were any glaring mistakes he should avoid when launching his budding startup. At first I thought I could simply flick him a link to a story that had this advice neatly laid out already, but the more I looked, the more I found “fluff” pieces that offered basic common sense advice that would be applicable in pretty much any situation, such as ‘don’t bite off more than you can chew’ and ‘stay focused’.